Cruel Story of Youth

(Nagisa Oshima, 1960).
Set in a widescreen world of strident rockabilly and lurid neon lights, flashy cars and boldly patterned synthetic fabrics, turquoise telephones and motorcycle punks, Nagisa Oshimas 1960 new wave feature was less Japans Rebel Without a Cause than its Brave New World. Perhaps that why, although the movie is nearly 50 years old, its vision of ginza punks and adolescent sex urgency still feels contemporary.
Fri., April 10, 2, 4:30, 6:50 & 9:15 p.m., 2009